Editor's Note: Author David Bill is a designer and educator who consulted with The Third Teacher+ on the Remake Your Class project highlighted in the videos below. The tips in this post go along with the companion video. We are excited by the simplicity (and low price tag!) of this great redesign. Hope you'll share any of your own tips in the comments area below.

If you're thinking of completing your own classroom remake project, good for you. I have been helping teachers redesign classroom spaces for the past three years, and have seen this process work for projects of all sizes.

The tips below can be used for smaller scale remakes right way. If you want to do something bigger, you can start planning immediately and schedule some time over a holiday or long weekend. Either way, much of the prep work can be done now, and incrementally over a few weeks as a lead-up to a larger remake project.

Whether you are looking to reorganize one corner or redesign the entire room, here are eight tips that may help you throughout the process.

1. Get Students Involved

Students are your primary users and should be at the center of such a remake process. To begin building excitement, reach out to them early and invite them to a weekend session at school (or someone's garage) where they can be involved from the beginning. Here are some specific ways to involve students:

Create Visual Inspiration

Ask parents, colleagues or friends to donate a variety of appropriate magazines. Have students find and add magazine pictures to create a visual wall of spatial inspiration. The pictures can portray any space at all -- not just schools. The goal is to include any and all places that stand out for students. When complete, have them use sticky dots to indicate the places that stand out and why. If you're strapped for time, find and post the images yourself.

Digitally, you can utilize Pinterest as a way for to create a "board" of inspiration. As you or your students find items or spaces that stand out, they can be pinned to your board. Students then comment on the "pins" that they appreciate.

Students Define Pain Points

Is there anything unsatisfying about the present setup? To find out, use a whiteboard to draw a map of your current classroom, and visually identify the various sections. Students then use sticky notes to write a word or two that indicates how they feel or what types of actions take place while spending time in that section of the classroom.

10x10x10

With the students, define several questions that address your classroom remake project. Then have students talk with ten different people in ten different places and bring ten different stories. Use that research to provide insights into what spaces people like and why.

Student Helpers

Later, when you're building out your redesign, ensure that the students play various roles in building the actual room. Whether it's painting, putting casters on tables, or moving boxes, the more they are involved, the more ownership and pride they will take in the classroom.

2. Research and Brainstorming Methods

You don't need to be a "designer" to engage in this process. All you need is the ability to conduct the research and do the brainstorming that is essential to this process. When remaking your classroom, the first step is to define the right "need" and then ask the right questions.

For example, when defining your need, you might ask, "How could we create more collaborative space in our classroom?" As you identify needs, activities like those mentioned below will help you collect data and then examine the challenge through a different perspective.

Word Association

Place butcher paper on several tables. Break the participants into several groups with each group at a separate table. Write a different random word in the center of each piece of butcher paper. Based upon that initial word, have the individuals write the first word that comes to their mind, and then repeat the process for each subsequent word. Do this for a few minutes. The table participants should then rotate and quickly build upon their group members' words. Once that is completed, have the group select their two favorite words. Those two words must then be used to create a quick prototype that addresses the stated "need."

Classroom Flow

Find a colleague or student who has a free period when you teach, and ask him or her to come and observe how you and your students move about the classroom. Print a diagram of the classroom, and as your observer watches, have him or her draw where you and your students move. One color should be used for tracing your movement and another for the students' movement. The sheet of paper with the tracking will help you determine what areas are used most heavily, and where items should be placed to better support fluid movement throughout your class.

Sticky Notes

After conducting your initial research, determine the areas that need the most focus (e.g. clutter, collaborative space and teacher workspace). For each focal point, have participants draw or write an idea related to the topic on sticky note. The ideas should be posted on a whiteboard. When all the ideas are on the board, they should be sorted and grouped to determine which ideas overlap and which can move forward. These brainstorming rules and guidelines will be helpful in setting up such an experience.

3. Tips for Organizing and Managing Volunteers

When assigning tasks and responsibilities to your volunteers, use something very simple. If the various individuals and groups helping you remake your classroom have regular online access, use a Google spreadsheet. If access is problematic, create a printable spreadsheet with the tasks and responsibilities, and pass it out to all parties involved in the project. The key to such a process is ensuring that it's easy to identify and know who is handling each task and responsibility.

4. Tips for Clearing the Clutter

One of the keys to any classroom remake is removing all of the unnecessary items. Spend some time considering what you most frequently use and where those items should be in relation to where you spend most of your time while in class. Once you define those needs, begin to search sites like Lifehacker for some tips on how to reorganize your materials.

5. Tips for Obtaining Supplies and Support

Once you've defined your required materials for the remake, reach out to your locally owned stores and tell your story. In many cases, the owners may donate or discount certain supplies. And -- oh, by the way -- it wouldn't hurt to bring a few of your students when you are making the ask.

If your project is going to require a bit more money, an Indiegogo campaign may be a viable option. Partner with some of the students and perhaps your media teacher to create a video that will draw in some interest and support.

6. Ideas for Repurposing Materials You May Already Have

Many items in our classrooms and homes are sitting idle when they could easily be repurposed. Do you have old plastic containers from the grocery store, milk crates or old hardbound books? Use them as storage containers in your classroom. Have old CDs? Make them into art. Lacking inspiration? Again, Pinterest may be a great resource for how to reuse your materials in your classroom. If you can't find the types of materials you're looking for to organize things, your town or city may have a group like SCRAP, Urban Ore or Goodwill. Check out those locations, as they will have plenty of reused materials. Also, explore Craigslist, a veritable goldmine for used materials.

7. Organizing Your Tools

Organize your tools in groupings based upon usage and frequency. Consider using containers or boxes that you or you students can easily identify and access, as these will be two of your biggest concerns. Use some color and visual labels to ensure that the containers stand out. If there are doors on your cabinets, consider taking them off so that everyone can see the containers with ease.

Organizations that offer materials and suggestions for reusing materials.

You can do a lot with space, materials, and even your students when you think creatively. In the comments section below, please share any questions, ideas and experiences for how you might remake your classroom this year.

We are delighted to have David Bill join us at NoTosh, from this summer, to bring more of this kind of work to schools across the country. We've already got some incredibly exciting projects launching this school term, which we'll share as they progress. Hopefully there will be plenty of new ideas to 'steal' for readers' own schools, wherever they are!

I love the detailed ideas of involving students in the classroom renovation process! It definitely supports the classroom modeling concept that I believe in which is "Grow as you go". So many times teachers "clutter" their classrooms for the first day of school and it leaves no place for growth or student input in it's development. I personally start the year off with a blank room with simple sections that blossoms with the students!

As a "greenie" #6 resonated with me as well! Will definitely be using some of those ideas to re-purpose some old items.

Director of Social Media Strategy and Marketing @Edutopia, edcamp organizer

Staff

A smaller idea from Facebook. I thought this was worth sharing since it's easy and cheap to implement:

Anthony Fitzpatrick, Educator:
A smaller idea would be to get the "contact paper" rolls that are similar to black or white boards. I transformed the walls into collaborative space with minimal cost and no construction issues.

There are tons of ways to get the concepts of these changes in a classroom. I'm completely inspired by this and love figuring out how to make it fit the limitations of my reality.

Orthography is an amazing tool to teacher students spelling. When you break down words and explain roots and suffixes, students spell by comprehending what the word means rather than sounding it out phonetically. Check youtube videos of children who learned orthography and you will see their excitement.

A teacher was inspired by these videos to redesign a space for her students. In her own words:

After watching your recent post on innovative ways to transform a teaching space, I was inspired to share my DIY classroom adventure.

I was given the opportunity to introduce art to the students of a high needs school for the first time since 1989. With this blessing came a challenge: an open space to hold court. But I saw the potential, and now the school and the students are more colorful.
So for those who can only be offered a space: if you build it, they will come...smiling!

This is great, David! I love that you pointed out that the students should be at the center of the remake as the primary users. My firm's 2nd annual Project Classroom effort takes a 1st year public school teacher's wish list for her classroom and (Extreme Home Makeover style) transforms the space over the weekend. The photos are "pin-worthy" and inspiring so I thought I'd share: http://www.ksqthegarret.com/?p=495&cat=7&aID=true

This is great, David! I love that you pointed out that the students should be at the center of the remake as the primary users. My firm's 2nd annual Project Classroom effort takes a 1st year public school teacher's wish list for her classroom and (Extreme Home Makeover style) transforms the space over the weekend. The photos are "pin-worthy" and inspiring so I thought I'd share: http://www.ksqthegarret.com/?p=495&cat=7&aID=true

Director of Social Media Strategy and Marketing @Edutopia, edcamp organizer

Staff

A smaller idea from Facebook. I thought this was worth sharing since it's easy and cheap to implement:

Anthony Fitzpatrick, Educator:
A smaller idea would be to get the "contact paper" rolls that are similar to black or white boards. I transformed the walls into collaborative space with minimal cost and no construction issues.

There are tons of ways to get the concepts of these changes in a classroom. I'm completely inspired by this and love figuring out how to make it fit the limitations of my reality.

We are delighted to have David Bill join us at NoTosh, from this summer, to bring more of this kind of work to schools across the country. We've already got some incredibly exciting projects launching this school term, which we'll share as they progress. Hopefully there will be plenty of new ideas to 'steal' for readers' own schools, wherever they are!